Illuminate my Eternity
by Scarlet.Nina
Summary: A threat that was once thought to have been defeated has returned to Ooo. Now, Finn must team up with Marcie in order to defeat this ancient evil! But when she is defeated, Finn then realizes just how easily he could lose everyone he cares about. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Hello world! This is here with my first AT FF =D I wanted to do something a lil serious so if it has a different flavor than the series, you now know why. But I hope y'all enjoy it all the same. Yes, Finn is older, but only by two years, and the bad guy has prolly been used in a ton of AT FF's but I really wanted to do my version of the story. I also listen to a ton of music while doing these that inspire the plots, so I will give a little track list with each chapter (Like at the end of Scott Pilgrim Comics =]) but yeah, hope y'all like it! Also, the POV's change from M for Marceline, F for Finn and NB for Nobody. I will inform you if that changes any. This will more than likely be a Finnceline, so ya. But it won't be overkill, lots-o-action ahead! I also have a Deviantart account with some AT art, nothing fancy, just sketches and stuff. Mostly Marcie, but more to come =D

"Suddenly my eyes are open and everything comes into focus..."~ Illuminated by Hurts. (There's one song =D)

Adventure Time is owned by Pen Ward and CN!

Chapter 1: Some Evil This Way Comes

NB POV

It was just breaching morning and the magpies had already started their incessant chirping.

Finn the human was not ready to get up. It is way too early. Maybe like ten in the morning.

However, he remembered a quote that pushed him every morning to get up out of bed, "Evil never

rests!" and that line alone motivated him enough to drag himself outta bed.

Jake, however, was not so motivated. He remained sleeping until the thought of how nice a cup of

coffee sounds. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he stumbled out of his

drawer.

"Dude, I think my eye balls are seriously considering leaving my face so they can rest more," Jake

says as he and Finn head to the kitchen in search of food and coffee.

"Dude, like that could ever happen!" Finn says right back. They reach the kitchen to find Beemo

sitting quietly at the table. "Mornin Beemo!" Finn greets.

"Oh, but it could!" Jake replies. "Hey Beemo," he adds.

"Good morning Finn and Jake!" It says in its cute little robotic voice.

"Yeah, just like you said that there is a monster living in yo gut!" Finn says and pokes Jake's belly,

making him giggle.

"But there is one! And now I must appease it!" Jake jokes back and grabs some eggs from the

fridge.

"Alright, alright. So what are we going to do today, Bro-ham?" Finn asks Jake who is currently

stuffing his face hole with the eggs he cooked.

"Saving princesses?" Jake says between bites. Finn shakes his head. No distress calls have been

made, yet.

"Dance with some babes?" Jake jokes. Finn's face turns a bright red.

"No dude! For reals!" Finn says back.

"I'm just messin with ya bro. Hmmm..." Jake contemplates. "Wanna go to the candy kingdom?"

"Heck yes I do!" Finn replies. "Candy for my mouthhhh!" he hollers.

"Heheheheh," Jake laughs menacingly. "The only candy you want in your mouth is BUBBLEGUM!"

Finn's face is a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

"What? NO! Dude!" Finn objects.

"Heheh, I'm just messin with ya bro. Now come on, I wanna see Lady and Part-ahy!" Jake says and

grabs his bro and they head outside. Jake grows giant and they head out for the Candy Kingdom.

It was really late for her. She needed to be going to bed. What a waste of a night! She waited for

those two dweebs ALL NIGHT! Marceline grabs her hair and tugs in frustration, as if it would

make her feel better. Sadly, it did not. She groaned and headed towards her bed, except

something is wrong. He stomach starts to have intense pains, crippling her over and causing her

to fall to the ground. She knew this pain. She also knew that it meant that something bad was

going to happen in the near future. She's not very superstitious, but when it comes to her gut, she

believes it. The last time she had ever felt pain this intense was during the Great Mushroom war.

That time period changed her life. It took something from her. Something precious and

irreplaceable. Her mother. However, it is still puzzling that she is feeling the same gut pains as

back then. What else did she have to lose? Why was she feeling this?

The pain is gone as fast as it came and she decided to ignore it. If something bad was about to

happen, then she would stop it this time. She is a vampire now, she should be more than strong

enough to take on whatever it was. She continues on to her bed and turns off her recording

equipment. Finn and Jake were supposed to have come over to have a jam session, but yet again

they screwed up. Only this time they hadn't shown up at all! She knew that they probably had to

go and save something or someone, but it still would have been nice to at least get a phone call

saying that they weren't going to be able to show. She still, however, accomplished something

that night. She wrote a song about how she felt about their not showing up. She really doubts

that she will ever let them hear it, that is unless they get on her nerves and do something like

this again.

She yawns and floats over to her bed and is about to fall asleep when there is a banging from her

front door that echoes throughout the house. She groans and makes her way to the door, slams it

open and looks out.

"yes?" she hisses at the darkness, but there was no one there. "Hm..." She re-shuts the door and

locks it. She then proceeds to look out her windows.

"Strange," she mutters and floats back upstairs to her awaiting bed. "Burr.." she shudders as a draft was leaking from her closet.

Meanwhile, the ominous knocker had looked back at the house they were now running from. They

needed help, but they were too frightened of Marceline to ask for it just yet.

Finn POV

"Candy Kingdom!" I yell as we approached the palace gates of jelly toast. Jake lets out a "Whoop,

whoop!" and we enter the Kingdom. However, things were not so bombastic on the inside. Candy

people where running around frantically.

"What's going on?" Jake says as he puts me down and shrinks back to norm size. A candy person

runs into my leg.

"Oh, Finn, Jake! It's terrible!" the little gumdrop kid says in a rushed voice.

"What's wrong?" I inquire.

"It's the Princess! Something has happened! But Peppermint Butler won't tell us!" I have to calm

this little guy down. Candy people explode when they are frightened.

"Hey now! Calm down little dude! I'm here and so is Jake and we are going to make everything

ok," I say and then Jake turns into a megaphone and I use him to make an announcement.

"Candy people! Please calm yo buns down! Jake and I will take care of everything!" I shout. They

all seem to believe me and start to calm down some. Then Jake turns giant and we rush to PB's

room.

"Princess Bubblegum!" I shout and burst into the room with my sword at the ready. However,

when I enter the room I am shocked. There is broken glass and papers thrown everywhere. It

looks like a war zone.

"Whoa..." I say worriedly. I find a note on PB's vanity.

"Finn the human,

I have returned to do what you had prevented me from completing in the past.

I am here to destroy all life in Ooo. I have taken the princess in hope that we will meet again

soon. I look forward to your futile attempt, as you will Finn that I am much stronger than the last

time we fought."

And what was at the end of the letter, I was not prepared for in the least.

"The Lich," I say.

"The Lich is behind this?" Jake exclaims. "I thought we defeated him awhile back!" his eyes held a

level of concern. "I don't like this bro."

"We have to save Peebles," I say defiantly.

"I know, but I don't like how he is using PB as bait to lure you into a fight. I mean why would he

do that? If he is as strong as he claims then he would have no problem in whipping out Ooo now!"

he says worriedly. "I think we should bring back up with us."

"Like who?" I ask.

"I dunno. Ice King? Lady? LSP?" he answers.

"LSP?" I question.

"Well, yeah. She's pretty tough when she's ticked!" Jake says.

"No, I don't want to involve anyone who could get hurt easily!" I say back.

"Then, how about Marceline?" he says. Marceline? Well she is the toughest person in Ooo.

"I dunno, dude. Marcie might not want to help us. She might still be ticked about last night," I

say. Last night we were supposed to have a jam sess, but we had to help peebles with a sciencey

project thing instead. It was exhausting work, but she said that it was extremely important. Never

said for what though.

"Finn, I really don't think it would be a good idea to go just us. We don't have those amulet

thingy's PB gave us and he almost had us last time!" Jake exclaimed. Ugh.

"Fine. We will go talk to Ice King," I say as I start to leave. However, a yellow hand grabs my waist

and twists around me, picking me up in the air.

"No, we are going to talk to Marceline!" Jake says and starts to leave while carrying me.

"Fine," I say.

M POV

I slept for about three hours when another annoying knock echoed throughout my house. Only

this time it is much more frantic. I groan and float downstairs and slam the door open.

"YES?" I hiss and look down to see Finn staring wide-eyed and Jake cowering in fear.

"Oh, it's just you guys." I am still upset about last night, and I think they both can tell.

"Marcie, we are so sorry about missing last night! But something has happened and we need your

help!" Finn exclaims. I glare. They miss Jam sess and then ask for my help?

"Go away," I say and start to slam the door when an arm suddenly stops it from slamming.

"Ah!" Finn shouts as the door crushes his arm.

"Finn!" Jake and I exclaim at the same time. "You little dork! What are you doing?" I shout.

"Marcie, we really need your help," he says in a pleading voice. Ugh. I dunno what it is about this

kid, but he is turning me soft.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the Lich?"

Whelp, that's all! At least for this chapter! So like I said, I know the Lich is, like, the go to bad guy, but I have some pretty awesome plans for this story! Also, there will be only one song until next update because some of the songs might not make sense during this chapter, lol. But the story really picks up the pace in the next chapter! Something happens to somebody and then! I'm just kidding, but please review and tell me what you think! and ok, I lied I have one other song, Wee Monster's by Unicorn Kid. IT'S TOTALLY MATHEMATICAL! =D Warning, it is techno/ dubstep! Well, I will hopefully have chapter 2 up in one week! Or Monday! But college is starting up again (Yes, I am a sophomore in college obsessed with AT!) so we will have to see. I have it finished, I just need to edit it. And if there are any mistakes in this, please forgive me because I didn't really get much time to edit, so sorry!

Little wormy shaking its head while going "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Review my friends, review my story. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" =D

~~~ Yet more! A preview of C 2. *(Here's a little thing to make you go Haha.)

M POV

I dunno if it was from the lack of sleep or if I was genuinely worried about the human boy, but I agreed to help.

"Just give me a sec to change," I say. I could see the boy blush a delicious shade of red. I realized that I was wearing an extremely loose and long T-shirt. He must have thought that that was all I was wearing.

"There are shorts underneath, kid," I tease. His face almost turns purple from embarrassment and Jake starts laughing hysterically.

"No! I, Argh!" he complains. It was rather cute to see him so embarrassed.

"And I am not a kid! I'm fifteen now! Imma man!" he shouts as I float up to my room.

(*And now for a preview of the fight scene!)

M POV

"Here!" I shout to Finn and Jake who are watching from the outside of the hole leading to the Lich's well of power and toss Bubblegum up to them. I then turn my attention to the Lich.

"Let go!" I kick his hand while trying my best not to lose grip of my umbrella. He could see that it was very valuable to my survival and flies us outside. Crap, crap, crap!

"Marcie!" I heard Finn yell as the Lich crushes my umbrella. Almost instantly, my skin starts to boil.

"Gah!" I cry out at the pain.

~S-to-the-N outie until next time! And do as the wormy says and REVIEWWWW! =D And sorry about how this is formatted. My computer kinda had a melt down or two while I was trying to get this all together, so sorry if it is hard to read or anything!


	2. Chapter 2

AN! Hey, sorry about how long it has taken to update. I wanted this to be up on Monday, but that didn't happen for reasons I will explain later. Well I just want to say thank you to all of the people who have read this and left reviews, favorite and alerted the story so far! =D But it does put a lot of pressure to make this chapter good too! This one has a good ol'fight scene in the begining, but the end does get kinda sappy with Marcie's brain overloading about her feelings and such, but bear with me. It gets good! It is labeled under romance, so expect mushy stuff like that =P And just because something happens with Bubblegum near the end is no reason to fret! It's still F&M to the end! And I believe that Marcie and Finn wouldn't just jump into a relationship. I believe they would really have to dig down deep to realize that they feel something more than friendship for the other. And I also believe that Marceline would deny it at first, but maybe that's just me. Ok, enough rambling! Here we go!

"My heart is just too dark to care, I can't destroy what isn't there. Deliver me unto my fate, if I'm alone I cannot hate. I don't deserve to have you. My smile was taken long ago, if I can change I hope I never know!… I couldn't face a life without your lights….I only wish you weren't my friend, then I could hurt you in the end. I never claimed to be a saint." Snippets from "Snuff" by Slipknot (One of my favorite songs!)

Disclaimer: AT is owned by Pen Ward and CN.

Chapter 2: Purpose

F POV

There was a certain level of shock and confusion on her face.

"_Where_ did you hear that name from?" she asks me blankly.

"Well, it's sort of a long story. About twenty minutes worth," I say and proceed to tell her about my last encounter with the Lich and how I thought I had defeated him. Her expression never changed. Blank, unreadable. "It turns out that he is back and he kidnapped Princess Bubblegum and I have to go save her!" I exclaim.

"Finn. I can't help you," the vampire queen says.

"Why not?" Jake demands.

"It's ok, Marice," I add. Her expression hardens, as if she is thinking of something complicated.

"_Ugh_!" she shouts. "I know of a way to defeat the Lich, but..." I could tell that she wasn't going to tell me exactly how. It must be something extremely dangerous for her to be acting like this.

M POV

I dunno if it was from the lack of sleep or if I was genuinely worried about the human boy, but I agreed to help.

"Just give me a sec to change," I say. I could see the boy blush a delicious shade of red. I then realized that I was wearing an extremely loose and long T-shirt. He must have thought that that was all I was wearing. Heh heh.

"There are shorts underneath, _kid_," I tease and tug at the end of the shirt. His face almost turns purple from embarrassment and Jake starts laughing hysterically.

"No! I, Argh!" he complains. It was rather cute to see him so embarrassed. "And I am not a kid! I'm fifteen now! Imma man!" he shouts.

"Hahahaha! She sooo got you dude!" Jake laughs. They continue to argue as I float up to my room.

"Still technically two years younger than me, kid!" I shout back and go to my closet. Then, I notice a tiny chiseled hole going from my room to the outside world that I have never noticed before. Finn and Jake no doubt, when they were trapped in my closet. I still remember that night like it was yesterday. Time is moving way too quickly. I've known Finn for almost three years now, but everything seems like it had just happened the day before.

"Argh." I continue on my quest for clothing and reach out for a pair of blue ripped up jeans and a red T-shirt, with a strawberry character on the front that had a slight V-neck and a white lace cami to go underneath. Add my favorite pair of black chucks there we go!

I was about to shut my closet door when I remembered something very important. The Lich is a very cold man. I mean, not that temperature bothered me much anymore, his cold is an unnatural kind. I grab my deep purple scarf and wrap it around my neck. There.

"Hey guys," I greet as I float back down to the living room. "Did you guys bring sweaters or scarves or something?" I ask.

"I didn't," Jake answers. "But Finn has his _like-like_ sweater!" Finn turns a bright red, yet again.

"Dude! What the crud?" Finn smacked his bro against the head.

"Well, you've had it since you were thirteen, what's the big deal?" Jake says, hurt.

"What's a _like-like_ sweater?" I ask. Finn doesn't look me in the eye as he replies. Ouch.

"It's a sweater that PB made me a long time ago when we first fought the Lich."

"Oh, ok," I say back. I now remember him briefly stating the sweater in his flashback story. It shouldn't have bothered me, but when he wouldn't look me in the eyes, I felt somewhat betrayed.

"Well, do you have a scarf I can borrow? The only thing of mine Finn has are my booties." Jake says, breaking my train of thought.

"Yeah, give me a sec," I say and float back to my room. Ugh! This feeling is so dumb! I am not feeling this way! There is no possible way that I am jealous over something that happened two years ago! Wait...why would I be jealous?

I push the thought aside and grab my old black scarf and head back down.

"Here!" I throw the scarf at Jake's face.

"Thanks girl!" Jake says as he wraps the scarf around his neck. Finn had not yet put on the sweater.

"What are you waiting for?" I ask, clearly annoyed. He stares blankly. "Put on your dumb sweater so we can go!"

"Oh, yeah," he replies dumbly. Glob, if there was ever a time when I hated his guts, it is right now.

F POV

I noticed the air around her had changed. She is very upset about this sweater. Darn it. I hated it when Marcie was upset, especially if I'm the reason for it. I put on the sweater and she raises a brow.

"It's _pink_?" She states. I nod. "And she put a _heart_ on it?" I thought she was about to blow, but instead she snorted and started laughing hysterically. "That is _sooo_ like bonnie!"

"Hey! It saved me from dying!" I blurt out. Her expression hardens. Dang it! I shouldn't have said that!

"You almost died?" She says with genuine concern. I left that part of the story out. I didn't want her to worry over something that's already been done and over with. "I had no idea..."

"It's alright, now let's go!" I say, changing the subject and start for the door. Marcie grabs her umbrella made of skulls and pushes it open. I still remember the first time I saw her use it, when she made me her henchman. Why does it seem like so long ago now? I ignore the thought and leave the house and Jake and Marcie follow.

We arrive at the hole leading to the Lich's well of power in record time. Nothing was said on the journey, only silence filled the air. It wasn't until we were all gathered around the hole that Marceline decides to break that silence with a very dangerous plan.

"Ok, I will go in and get Bubblegum and then the Lich will follow me back out and you and Jake will stop him," Marceline orders.

"No, you can't go alone, it's too dangerous!" I say. I can see a smile poke at her lips.

"You're sweet," She says back, pats my head and disappears into the hole.

"Marceline!" I shout at the darkness to no avail. "That was not part of my plan. Not part of the plan!" Glob it!

M POV

It was extremely cold. I close my umbrella and hug myself tightly and pull my scarf closer. Bonnibel must be a bubblepop by now in this cold. Why did the Lich kidnap Bubblegum anyways? I'm sure that if he had just challenged Finn he would have fought him. Why the need for a hostage? I follow a mess of carnage from a past fight until I finally reach the well, only no one is there. Then, a flash of pink catches my view.

"Bonnibel?" I say cautiously and set my umbrella by the exit hole. I float over to her cautiously. Any type of trap could be set up here. I better hurry though or that soft idiot might come rushing down here to save the day. I float over to the pink and I am instantly smacked down by something big and boney.

"Ow!" My head smacks against the ground and I look up. The Lich has holding me down, hands around my neck.

"Nice try," I say. "But I'm already_ DEAD_!" I shout and kick him off.

"Who are you?" He asks in his creepy echoic voice.

"Your worst nightmare!" I shout and turn invisible. However, he easily grabs my leg and slams me into a wall, causing some rubble to fall and create a slight hole leading to the outside world and the dreaded sun. Not only am I still sleep deprived, I now have my left arm feeling like it was on fire. I hiss and jump away from the ray of sunshine. The Lich laughs. Great, now he knows my weakness. In one swift motion I dash towards the pink, grab Bonnibel and my umbrella and head back for the outside. But just as I was about to emerge from the hole with my umbrella open, the Lich grabs my foot.

"Here!" I shout to Finn and Jake who are watching from the outside and toss Bubblegum up to them. I then turn my attention to the Lich.

"Let go!" I kick his hand while trying my best not to lose grip of my umbrella. He could see that it was very valuable to my survival and flies us outside too fast for me to comprehend. Crap, crap, crap!

"Marcie!" I heard Finn yell as the Lich crushes my umbrella. Almost instantly, my skin starts to boil.

"Gah!" I cry out at the pain.

F POV

"No!" I shout and Jake stretches us up to help Marceline.

"Marceline!" I scream as she writhed in pain.

"Finn…" I could hear her barely whisper. She could barley hold her eyes open from the pain. The Lich continues to cackle. I wanted to pound him back into dust!

"Turn into a bat!" I order and she nods her head. However the Lich wraps his hands around her chest and clenches his hands tightly, squeezing the life, if there was any to begin with, out of her.

"NO! Liichh!" I growl and take out my sword and jump out at the Lich. I slice off one of his boney hands that held Marcie. He gasps and drops her. She quickly turns into a bat and I catch her in my bag.

"ARGHH!" The Lich screams in pain.

"Yeah, Finn!" Jake says as I land on his back. I look into my bag.

"Are you ok?" I say softly. But the little bat isn't moving. "Jake!" I shout.

"Is Marcie ok?" He asks and his giant body held PB, me and the now unconscious bat girl. He starts to back up and leave. We will have to come back to defeat the Lich once Marcie and PB are safe.

"I'm not sure, bro," I choke and he starts running full speed to Candy Kingdom, leaving the Lich to curse while holding his now missing appendage.

I knew we shouldn't have brought her! I could have rescued PB on my own! I hated this feeling. I feel as though I did nothing but get Marcie hurt! I so hated myself right now. So. Lumping. Much!

"Dude, it's going to be ok!" Jake tried to cheer me up as we sat outside of the infirmary of the Candy Kingdom. "Doctor Ice Cream will fix 'em both up real nice!" he adds.

"I really hope so," I say. I just hope Marceline can forgive me. If only I weren't so weak…

M POV

"Ughh..." The lights glared into my eyes and I instantly freaked. "No!" I scream. I try to run, but restraints made of chain held me back. "It will kill me!" I plead to the brightness.

"Calm down, Miss Vampire Queen! You are safe! They are just light bulbs, not the sun!" A frantic voice exclaims. I then notice that the light is not boiling my skin. I calm down somewhat.

"Ok," I say cautiously and look around. It was Doctor Ice Cream of Candy Kingdom who had calmed me. "Where am I?" I ask.

"At the hospital in Candy Kingdom. We are taking care of you. But I must say that you have almost healed completely, no major damage really. You may have a slight scar on your left arm though," she says kindly. So I didn't die at least. I raise my hands up, looking at the chain and giving her a questioning look.

"I'm sorry about those. We didn't know how you would react once you woke," She explains. Makes sense since I did freak out. I then look over to my right and see a mass of pink.

"How's Bubblegum?" I ask as I look over at a bed across from mine. Might as well know how she's doing so I can tell Finn.

"Her highness seems to be stable, however," Ice Cream's face became sullen. "It seems as though she is in a sort of Acoma. I don't know how long it will take for her to wake though..."

"Well, thank you for your kindness, but I want to leave," I say and pull against my restraints.

"Oh, but you're not _completely_ healed yet!" She exclaimed with what seemed like real concern. I smiled.

"Again, thank you for your help, but I'm feeling much better. But, you see, I am STARVED and Bubblegum looks pretty tasty right now. So how about I leave before anything happens to that _pretty pink face?" _I say and show my fangs.

"Oh, well, I guess you are well enough to leave!" Doctor Ice cream exclaims as she pulls off my restraints quickly.

"Thank you!" I say and exit the room.

After I left the room, I could feel my strength giving out. It's night out now at least. I need to make my way home. I'm completely exhausted and starving. I could barely keep myself afloat when I heard someone talking to me.

"Marcie!" I hear a voice shout from behind me. I turn around to see Finn. I feel myself giving out as I put my feet on the ground.

"Hey, I gotcha!" Finn says kindly as he grabs me and holds me in arms. Since when was he this strong and tall? I instinctively wrap my arms around his head.

"Hey! Set me down!" I say. "_Now_!" But the adventurer wouldn't listen. He just had this silly grin on his face. I don't have the strength to fight him. Ugh.

"Hey Jake, go get some red and head on home. I'm going to bring Marcie back with us," Finn says and I feel myself starting to fall asleep right there.

F POV

"Ok, bro. Just don't beat yourself up over this dude! Marceline is ok and so is Princess Bubblegum, just relax," Jake says and leaves the hospital wing. How could I not beat myself up? It was 100% my fault. I look into the calm face of the vampire girl in my arms. It is dark outside now, so I head on back to the treehouse.

She felt so light, like I was holding onto nothing but air. Has she been eating right? Or have I actually gotten stronger? No, I'm still weak. If only I was stronger, then Marcie would never have to worry about getting hurt again.

_That was it_! It was all so clear now. The reason I was never really able to become the great hero I have always wanted to be was BECAUSE I had no real purpose to. Yes, it is true that I want to protect all of Ooo's creatures and vanquish all villainous scum, that's my deal, but I felt something new grow in me at that moment. I've never thought about dedicating my life to someone before. I want to protect this girl. Whether it be from monsters or the sun, I wanted this girl to never again experience pain, at least not while I am alive. I want her to feel and know that when I am near, everything will be ok. I may have not been there for her in the past, but I am here now.

M POV

I felt something wrapped around me. It is soft and pink. Slightly squishy, but hard at the same time. It was an arm. Oh so carefully draped around my waist, pulling me close to the owner. Finn. I can smell him all around me, almost suffocating. I want to leave, to run. But I felt something else too. A feeling I haven't felt since I was a child. Safe.

No. I can't. I stand up cautiously and place his warm hand by his stomach. Yes, I like Finn, but... Something is different right now. The atmosphere has completely changed. That arm, it changed me from the inside-out. Do I like this feeling? I don't know. But, I won't let myself enjoy it. He's human. Fleshy, easily broken, and most of all: limited. I am a Vampire. Indestructible for the most part, feelings hardened over time and most of all: limitless.

I walk away from the sleeping mass on the couch and enter into the kitchen of the treehouse. My old treehouse. I still remember the first time I met these two weenies and kicked them out. I smile. I open the fridge and take out a pack of strawberries. Only three left. I suck the red from them and begin rummaging through the cabinets. I find a jelly donut and some multi-colored jelly candies. Not much of a meal, but enough to make me feel slightly better.

"Hey, babe," A voice says from behind. "Why are you rummaging through my kitchen?" I turn to see Jake with a coffee cup up to his jowls.

"You should really buy some more red," I comment and chuck a grey jelly at him. He ducks and barely misses it.

"I did, miss nosey pants! It's in that bag over there!" Jake says and takes a loud slurp from his drink.

"Oh, thanks," I say and rip the bag open, devouring everything inside.

"Ughh, manners!" The dog whines and covers his face. As if I was being that barbaric! I take out an apple and lift my pinkie mockingly into the air. He frowns.

"Hey," he speaks up after a short silence.

"Hm?" I mumble, not really wanting to talk to him now.

"So, do you like Finn?"

"Sure I do."

"No," Jake says sternly. "I mean _like-like_. Like when he liked PB!" I gulp loudly.

"What do you mean liked?" I say too quickly for me to catch.

"Don't avoid my question," Jake says, annoyed. I smile.

"I am not avoiding your question, I am just simply asking for a _piece_ of info that I would like to know _prior_ to my answer," I say. Jake's a smart dog, but if I had said that same line to Finn, I'm sure his brain would have exploded from the complexity. I laugh inside.

"I saw you two cuddlin! I know your secret, Marceline The Vampire Queen! I win!" Jake almost shouts.

"You don't know anything. You're just assuming and when you assume, you will never win," I float over by his ear. "And I had no say in the so called "cuddling" incident. I was out like a light."

"But you enjoyed it, didn't you!" Jake says, like he was giving the last jab in a fight. K.O.'ing me.

"Think what you want, doesn't mean you're anymore closer to an answer than you were five minutes ago," I say and float back into the living room.

"Stop avoiding it, girl!" Jake yells a little too loudly. Finn stirs from his spot, feeling the emptiness of where I was once lying.

"Marceline?" His tired voice cracks. He's fifteen, why in glob is his voice still cracking?

"I'm still here," I assure and sit, and by sit I mean float in a sitting position, on the table in front of him. "And we have to talk."

"I know," His face was sullen. "It's all my fault Marcie! I never meant for you to get hurt! I really didn't!" I give him a sympathizing look. I already knew all of this.

"I know, Finn, but that's not..." He cuts me off by putting his warm hand on my mouth.

"No, you don't. Marcie, I never want to see you hurt again! I'm a hero for glob's sake! Marceline, I want to be there for you. I want you to feel that whenever I'm around, everything is going to be ok. I want to become stronger, for you," He finishes and moves his hand away. We just stare at each other. Was he confessing some type of feeling? Or just being the typical hero? No, this was something different. But, I didn't want this, right?

"Hey Marceline, do you know what happened to Bubblegum?" Jake says as he walks into the room. Thank goodness too. Never thought I would be so happy to see that yellow cretin.

"Yeah."

F POV

Why did I say all that junk? Yes, I had already come to the conclusion that I wanted to protect her, but why did I sound all sappy? Her face was unreadable. Almost like when I told her of the Lich. Jake came in just in time though. I will never admit it, but I was afraid of what she would say next. I mean, a human saying that they will protect a vampire? Preposterous!

"Guys," Marceline says, breaking my train of thought. "Bubblegum is in a sort of Acoma. I don't know if the Lich put some type of spell on her or what."

"But, she's ok?" I say, genuinely concerned.

"For now."

"How can we wake her up?" Jake asks. Marceline folded her arms and legs closer to herself.

"I'm not sure. The mind can be a complicated thing. Maybe the voice of her favorite hero, or something..."

"A kiss?" Jake says what she had been dancing around.

"Um, well, that only works in old and really bad movies," Marceline says and rests her head on her knees and looks away. Why is she acting all weird? Does she not want me to kiss bubblegum? Why would it bother her?

"Well, maybe we should go talk to Dr. Ice Cream about it," I suggest. Marceline turns her head my way, eyes staring straight into mine. They held a look of betrayal. Why though? Because I didn't turn down kissing PB? I look away and stand up. It's still dark out and Marcie can just borrow an umbrella from us, just in case.

"Let's go," I order. Jake follows, but Marceline stays put. "Are you coming?" I ask. She was still staring at where I was once sitting.

"Ugh, I guess so," She says and floats over to us. "I need to..." but before she could even finish her sentence, I already had a new umbrella in her hands. "Thanks."

" No prob, Milady," I say, all gentlemanly like. She smiles. Marceline doesn't _genuinely_ smile too often, but when she does, she's actually very pretty.

M POV

We reach the Candy Kingdom in record time. Finn practically breaks the doors down, rushing to the room that kept Bubblegum.

"Finn!" Dr. Ice Cream exclaims.

"Dr. Ice Cream! We have some theories on how to wake Peebles!" He exclaims back. He tells her of what I had talked about.

"Finn, I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Nothing I have tried has worked so far," Dr. I-C says and allows Finn to go to Bubblegum's bedside. It looked so...so...right. Almost like they were _supposed_ to be together: A princess and her hero. Even though, that night two years ago when I told him that he would be bored with her in a week, I can't confidently say that they wouldn't be good together. I shouldn't have come.

"Finn, I think..." I tried to excuse myself, but he wasn't listening. No one was. Everyone's eyes were trained on the princess. Like always. But, that's not what bothered me. The thing that got me, absolutely struck me to the core, was the level of compassion in Finn's eyes. He still likes Bubblegum. Maybe even loves her. I can't compete with that. And I really wish that he didn't say all those sweet things earlier to me.

He's unknowingly destroying my heart guts. This simple human. But the biggest question in my mind is why this time? Why with a human? Why this human? I've known plenty of humans in my past, with me once being one, but no one like him. None that would do anything, and I mean anything, for a friend or even a complete stranger. He is truly a great hero.

"Princess Bubblegum?" Finn says slowly and puts his hand on her arm. Something new surges through me.

"Peebles, come on. Your kingdom needs you. We all need you PB, ya gotta wake up," and then, he kisses her.

My insides felt like they were going to tear apart. It shouldn't have bothered me. But it did. It bothered me so freaking much. I know that they have probably kissed before, so why such a big deal? Here's why: She opened her eyes. It was like those old movies. True loves kiss or whatever.

Why do I care so. Dang. Much?

F POV

I pull my face away to find Princess Bubblegum looking straight up at me.

"PB!" I exclaim and she smiles.

"Finn! You rescued me!" She exclaims and hugs me. I could feel myself blush. If this were two year ago, I'm sure I would have been the happiest guy on the planet. But it just didn't feel the same. I push away.

"Actually princess, Marceline saved you. If it weren't for her, well, who knows how it would have turned out," I say. She looks confused.

"Marceline?" She says and looks behind me at the brooding vampire.

"Don't think anything of it," Marceline says and turns to leave.

"Wait!" PB and I say at the same time. I feel my face grow even hotter. Why does it always do that?

"Yeah?" Marceline says.

"Well, I want to thank you properly for saving my life, Marceline," Princess Bubblegum says kindly.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome, I guess…"' Marceline says, clearly embarrassed by the attention.

"And I'm going to take you home," I say quickly. Jake gave me a goofy smile and I give him the stare down back.

"I'll be fine," She says.

"Nonsense, Marceline. Let Finn escort you home," PB says and winks at me. If my face could catch on fire, it would be hot enough to roast the marshmallow kids.

"Yeah, girl. It's getting to be morning outside anyways," Jake added. Marceline sighs.

"Fine," She says and heads for the exit.

"I'll meet you at the treefort!" I exclaim to Jake and follow after Marcie.

"Marceline!" I shout and she slows down a bit. I catch up to her and match her pace. I notice something's wrong.

"Are you ok?" I ask. She doesn't respond. So I decide to ask more questions. "Why are you walking instead of floating?" I observe.

"Because I'm tired," She finally says. So I step in front of her and kneel down with my back towards her.

"Piggy back ride?" I offer. She shakes her head. "Come on." She folds her arms, looks away and pouts.

"Fine," She says. "Only if it will shut you up."

She remained quiet for most of the trip. I tried to keep up a conversation, but she would barley mutter "Yes" or "No" responses. So, I decided to use a different approach.

"Marceline,"

"Yeah?"

"Did it bother you when I kissed PB?"

"…"

"Marcie?" I turned my head to look at her face, but her hair covered most of it.

"Just, put me down," She says solemnly.

"I'm sorry," I say and continue to carry her. "I didn't know that it would bother you so much."

"That's not really it…" She says.

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused now. I thought that was the part that bothered her.

"Don't worry about it," She says coldly.

"How can I not?" I ask back. "I care about you, Marcie." Over the past three years that I have known her, this is the first time that she has acted this distant from me. Then, she took off my hat, leaned her head on mine, making it so her mouth was so close to my ear that I could feel her breath, and she whispered: "Do you still like Bubblegum?"

Anyone catch the "Twenty minute" remark? =P Ya know, cause the epi's are about ten minutes long, yeah, you all prolly get it! I tried messing witht he formatting some more, but my computer doesn't like me. And I'm not joking, it shut itself down, for no reason!, like three times while I was trying to upload this!Also, I know I switch POV's alot, but I want to get both sides of the story, idk how to explain it. And I know it's a little "She/He likes me, She/He likes me not", but it had to be done anyways, so why not get all that out of the way now! Wowww…I think this is like the longest chapter everrr!( Not counting AN) A lot had to be said though, and I for one like when a story has a lot to it. But again, I know it get's kinda emotional, but that's what kind of story this is! You're the one who joined this emo roller coaster, so no complainin! lol And I love to leave cliff hangers =D lol But, this story will hopefully be semi-long, so don't expect them to be dating by the next chapter or anything like that. Taking it slooowwwww. And expect some drama bomb's being dropped here and there. But I can tell you this, there will be a sequel! Or really, I should say an epilogue. I know that it's kind of early to be talking about such things, but thought I would go ahead and mention it. Because I have already figured the ending, and if I left it how it is, then this would prolly be considered a tragedy. Well, I have had a lot I've had a few tragedies in my life, so that's what I tend to write, but not this time…..well, at least until part 2. And besides, I wouldn't do that to you guys ;P With that said, I hope you all liked it! And I never really have seen any stories that leave previews, so tell me if you guys like them, cause I don't mind doing them. Reviewwwww! Oh, and Neverthrive, the worm is grateful with your compliance =D

Now I do have a bit of bad news. Updates for this may take more than one week at a time because my gmaw's in the hospital =[ and also school stuff, life drama basically. But I'm not quitting the story or anything drastic like that! I'm going to try to have ch. 3 up in one week, so until next time! Oh, and there will be a slow dancing scene in the next chapie ;] ~ And again, thank you for all the comments, favorites and alerts! They mean so much right now ='] Who else can't wait till the 16th? Shmawzow! *Update. My Gran is doing much better (I wrote that above comment about her three days ago) so hopefully life will be going back to norm soon!

**What time is it? **_**Preview Time!**_

F POV

"Isn't it pretty?" She says while staring wistfully at the sun. I look up at her and smile sadly.

"Yeah…" I agree. But it's not the sunrise that I think is pretty, it's the person viewing it.

"It's amazing how something so beautiful could kill me so easily. Heck, it almost did earlier…" She laughs. "I guess it's like a little fish and an Angler."

"How's that?" I ask question the comparison.

"Because, the light's so pretty, but…" Her face hardens. "Get too close and it _will_ kill you." She says and flies us back down into the mouth of her cave and onto her porch. I've never seen this side of Marceline. So vulnerable and…cute. I shake my head to clear my mind as she puts her hand out.

"Here," She says. I look at what she's holding. My hat. I push her hands back to her.

"Keep it," I say. "For tonight." Confusion fills her face.

"Why?" She asks. I smile.

"So I know you won't disappear on me."

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?"She asks. Then, I decided to tell her what Jake has been planning for weeks without me knowing.

"Well, Jake's been planning a surprise b-day party for me for weeks now. I only found out because he accidentally left a note to himself about it on his bed. But, I want you to come. It's tomorrow night at eight O'clock. And I know that we shouldn't be doing stuff like this with the Lich back and everything, but I think we all _need_ something like this before the big and inevitable fight," I say all too quickly. She's frowning.

"Will you come?" I ask, hopefully. "You can bring my hat back then!" I say, like insurance. Then she smiles slightly.

"Ok," She says and turns around, enters her house and shuts the door.

Tracklist: (Just some music that inspires me to write!)

The Wallflowers- One Headlight, Snow Patrol- Run, A Fine Frenzy- Lovesick, Hurts-( Illuminated, Devotion), Paramore- CrushCrushCrush, Taylor Swift- (Haunted, Safe and Sound), Evanescence- (Away from me, My Heart is Broken, My Immortal, Lost in Paradise, Made of Stone), Seether- Careless Whisper, Owl City- Strawberry Avalanche, Cold- (Wasted Years, Suffocate, Cure My Tragedy), Slipknot- Snuff, Hurt- (Overdose, Aftermath), Hoobastank (Reason, Unaffected), Apocalyptica ft. Shinedown- Not Strong Enough, HIM- Vampire Heart.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N. Well, first off I am sorry that this is late. My bad. I have my reasons (Excuses) though. I had to help some friends move and I destroyed my pinky finger (Ripped the nail half way off D=) it was bad, lol. Then school work and what not. Also, I am addicted to Homestuck (MS paint adventures) right now o.o lol But here is chapter 3! A lot happens in this chapter. Well, mainly emotional stuff. They do figure out their own feelings, but never really openly tell the other. You'll see. And even though this feels like it had just begun, it is coming to an end. There are only like one or two chapters left. This feels like a really short story, but the chapters are semi long. I just don't want to stretch the story for lengths sake. Oh well. Some really mushy scenes between Marcie and Finn in this one. Marceline may seem out of character at one point, but there is a reason, which she will state, many times. And I like subtle romance, not lemony fresh stuff and make out sessions, you know. I don't like writing that crud. But kisses are fine, just not hard core tongue action and crap. Sorry for those of you that do like that stuff, but you won't find it here. Just sayin. Also, I drew a pic for this chapter =] but it's not uploaded on my DA acc yet cause it's in the inking process.

"Hold me, like you held onto life when all fears came alive and into me. Love me, like you love the sun, scorchin' the blood in my vampire heart." Vampire Heart by HIM.

Chapter 3: What I have to do

I stare blankly ahead. Why would she ask that?

"Well, yeah, I guess," I answer. I can feel Marceline tensing up. "I mean, I've had a crush on her for years, but…" She starts to move her head away. "I don't know if I that's how I feel anymore."

She pulls completely away now and I turn around to look at her. She was smiling. And wearing my hat!

"Well, I can tell you that you're wasting your time with Bonnie," She says slyly. "As long as she is a Princess then she will always put her people first."

How am I supposed to react? Why does this woman keep messin with my brain! Then, I decide to switch the roles.

"It looks good on you," I joke and continue to walk toward the mouth of her cave. I turn once I reach the opening. She was frozen in her spot, face blood red. Strange for a vampire to be blushing. "But I need it back."

She finally moves, taking it off and twirling it in her hand.

"Mmmmmm….I think I'll keep it!" She says with a scary face.

"You don't scare me, lady!" I say defiantly.

"Oh yeah?" She says cockily. "Well, we will just have to change that!" She then grabs my arm and floats us up into the outside air. The sun is barley pushing up above the horizon, leaving trails of bright orange, red and pink to spill throughout the sky.

"Um, Marcie…" I say, trying to warn her of the oncoming sun. But she stares at it, almost like in a trance.

"Isn't it pretty?" She says while staring wistfully at the sun. I look up at her and smile sadly.

"Yeah…" I agree. But it's not the sunrise that I think is pretty. It's the person viewing it.

"It's amazing how something so beautiful can kill me so easily. Heck, it almost did earlier…" She laughs. "I guess it's like a little fish and an Angler."

"How's that?" I ask.

"Because, the light's so pretty, but…" Her face hardens. "Get too close and it will kill you." She says and flies us back down into the mouth of her cave and onto her porch. I've never seen this side of Marceline. So vulnerable and…cute. I shake my head to clear my mind as she puts her hand out.

"Here," She says. I look at what she's holding. My hat. I push her hands back to her.

"Keep it," I say. "For tonight." Confusion fills her face.

"Why?" She asks. I smile.

"So I know you won't disappear on me."

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?"She asks. Then, I decided to tell her what Jake has been planning for weeks without me knowing. Well, at least he doesn't think I know.

"Well, Jake's been planning a surprise b-day party for me for weeks now. I only found out because he accidentally left a note to himself about it on his bed. But, I want you to come. It's tomorrow night at eight. And I know that we shouldn't be doing stuff like this with the Lich back and everything, but I think we all need something like this before the big and inevitable fight," I say all too quickly. She's frowning.

"Will you come?" I ask, hopefully. "You can bring my hat back then!" I add. It will be like insurance. Then she smiles slightly.

"Ok," She says and shuts her door.

M POV

I am exhausted, even though I was probably knocked out for a good four or five hours. I look down at the hat in my hands, clench it tightly and then throw it at the couch.

"Argh! What am I doing?" I exclaim to no one. Great. Now I'm talking to myself. This is getting ridiculous. I float over to my kitchen in search of some red. I'm not going to that party. No way. Can't make me. I can see the white hat from here, as if it was scolding me. Why did he leave it with me? He never takes it off. I thought he would freak when I did, not let me keep it. I mean, he doesn't even know if he is completely over Bubblegum. Why act this way towards me? I suck some red from an apple and float back into the living room.

"I'm not bringing a gift!" I yell at the hat, like it would answer me. I pick it back up and examine it more. Blonde hairs riddled the inside, along with one, long black hair. I carry it with me upstairs and lay it on my bed.

"So, tomorrow at eight?" I say to myself and go to my closet. I pick through my clothes, trying to find a casual outfit. Nice, but not too nice in case of an attack of some kind. I choose a pair of jeans and a black tank with a little red heart on the bottom right corner. And to top it off, my boots with the bows up the back.

"That should be nice enough," I say and grab some night clothes to change into. But before I change, I feel like the hat is staring at me. So, I do the most logical and reasonable thing to do when dealing with an inanimate object: I head to the bath room. I come back out and place the hat on one side of the bed, daring it to come on my half. Why am I treating it like it's alive? I ignore the thought and eventually go to sleep.

F POV

I arrived back home in a daze. What just happened? I've never seen that side of Marcie before. Yes, I've seen her upset and such, but that sad longing. Almost as if she wanted to be…be like me. What I mean is, to live during the day and not fear the sun. I never knew it bothered her that much. I actually thought that she preferred the night. But who would prefer a time when all of their friends are asleep?

"Finn!" I heard someone yell. I look up to see Jake standing at the door. "It's almost morning dude! We need to get at least some rest before tonight!" I give him a confused look, for fun.

"What's tonight?" I ask playfully. He starts to look worried.

"Uh, nothing important! Now come on!" He says and stretches his arms to pick me up and pull me into the house.

"Alright, dude," I laugh. But, his smile quickly fades into a frown. "What?"

"Where's your hat?" Jake questions. I panic.

"I, uh," I feel the top of my head. "Must have forgotten it at Marcie's!" I chuckle. His frown slowly turns into another one of his goofy smiles.

"Oh, oh, OOHHHH!" He says like he has it all figured out.

"No man, nothing happened!" I exclaim.

"Uh-huh! Yeah right, I know just what happened!" Jake practically shouts.

"Then what happened?" I question.

"You two were smoochin' and that's how you forgot your hat!" Jake exclaims. I feel my face grow hot.

"What? NO! We did not smooch or anything like it!" I shout.

"Yeah right, brother, I know you like Marceline!" Jake says.

"No, I…" Do I like Marceline? "I don't think so?" I don't know. Jake laughs. Why do I feel this weird thing in my gut? I've always liked Princess Bubblegum, but here lately, I think I have felt differently. Could it be that I like Marceline now?

"Dude, it's ok if you like Marceline. I think she digs you too!" Jake says. I look at him, unsure.

"I don't know. I mean, we've been friends so long, maybe…." I stop, realizing what Jake said last. "You think she likes me?"

"Yeah, I mean she is always looking your way when we hang out, laughs at all your lame jokes and she even has your hat now. That I bet she's cuddlin with!" He exclaims.

"My jokes are not lame!" I comment back, trying to ignore the thought of her cuddling with my hat. Not that I have a problem with it, it's just I don't want Jake to see me get all flustered over a hat. Even if it is the most awesomest hat EVER.

"Not the point," Jake says. "Marceline likes you dude."

"You're full of it, Jake," I say "She's like a thousand years old, why would she want a guy like me…" I turn and head up to my bed. "I'm only 15."

"Love knows no age!" Jake screams my way. "And technically she is frozen as like a seventeen year old or something! So don't give up!" Yeah right. If that were the case then PB would have dated me all those years ago.

The day went by slowly. Jake said that he was going to go see Lady, so that left me all by myself. I knew Jake had lied to me, he was going to go set up for my party, but I will let him think he has the upper hand this time. I wander throughout the treefort, looking for something to do. My mind inadvertently thinks about the night before. I secretly wonder if Marceline did cuddle with my hat? I laugh at the thought. The tough vampire girl cuddling with a human's hat? I seriously doubt it!

M POV

"Finn?" I call out into the darkness. Destruction was all I could see, smoke and fire. People running, screaming for their lives. "Finn!" I scream as a void opened beneath me. Swirling darkness began to consume me. I scream. I could see something reach down and pull me from the dark void as it's swirling claws grasped at my flesh. A fragile, yet string hand pulls me up from the darkness and into humans arms.

"It's ok," Finn says soothingly as I bury my head into his shoulder. And as I breathe heavily, my eyes grow wide. From behind, the Lich's hand reaches through Finns chest.

"FINN! NO!" I scream and as the boy collapses in my arms. His eyes close and his breathing ceases. "No, wake up!" But his eyes remained shut. I cradled the lifeless body until I could feel nothing anymore…

The smell of Finn filled my nostrils as I was still in a sleepy haze. My eyes snap open. I see something white by my face and nearly jump out of my bed.

"It's just his hat!" I exclaim, trying to calm myself. "He's ok…he's ok…" I think back to my dream, or I should say, to my nightmare. It seemed so vivid. I can't help but thank glob that it was just a dream and nothing more. I hug the hat and grow furious with myself. I can't be doing this! Especially if I'm the _only_ person who can defeat the Lich. I know what must be done, and if I become attached to this human, then I don't know if I will be able to do it. I won't let that nightmare become a reality. I look over at my alarm clock that I had set for 7 pm. It read 8:30. Crud cake! I pick up the alarm clock and slam it against the wall.

"What good is having one if it doesn't work when you need it?" I shout and hurry to get ready. I barely have any time left with Finn, and here I am sleeping it away! Ugh!

F POV

The party was banging. Jake had told me that PB needed some "help" with a science project again, but I of course knew what that meant. Jake had almost everyone from the Candy Kingdom come out and yell "SURPRISE!" all at once when we arrived. Everyone partied and had a great time. However, I couldn't help but notice that a certain someone wasn't here.

"Hey Jake," I finally found him near the punch bowl.

"Yeah, bro?" He replies. "Enjoying your party, Mr. 16?" I give him a small smile.

"Yeah, it's totes awesome! But, could you tell me what time it is?" I ask.

"Adventure Time?" He answers back, confused.

"No, I mean for realsies," I say. He looks down at his new watch that Lady bought him awhile back and shows it to me. 9:00. I frown and start to walk away, but Jake grabs my shoulder.

"Dude, don't worry!" He says reassuringly. "She will be here. She's prolly just doin girly stuff, you know, making herself up all nice for you!" Then he let's go and I start walking, sighing to myself.

"Well, she doesn't need to," I say under my breath and head into the cotton candy forest.

The canopy of trees fit my mood perfectly. I kinda thought that Marceline might have liked me, I mean after all that happened yesterday. But she's not here. I sigh some more.

"You know that if you sigh too much you'll explode!"

M POV

His head turned around so quickly that I was afraid that it might fly right off his shoulders.

"Marceline?" He exclaims in disbelief.

"Hey," I reply and float over to him. I hold his face with my free hand and pull his hat out from behind my back with the other. "Look at what I've got." I then proceed to put it on his silly little head. He tugs on it slightly.

"Good thing I left this with you!" He exclaims.

"Oh? And why is that?" I ask.

"Because, you might not have come at all," He says and grabs my arm. "And now I'm not letting you go!" I start to laugh and he looks at me, confused.

"As If you could hold on to me!" I chuckle.

"I'll try my best!" He smiles and I can't help it. With the faint music playing in the background and the canopy of trees, my heart gets the better of me. I lean down and kiss his cheek.

"You're cute," I say.

"As are you," he says back and starts to tug on my arm. "Wanna go dance?"

"I don't know…" I reply. I've already caused too much damage. But, then he wraps his arms around my waist and dips me. I grab around his head, shocked by his speed.

"Just one dance?" He pleads. I give in.

"Fine," I say and we start to dance. He pulls me close and I lay my head on his shoulder. If this is possibly the last night that I can ever be with Finn like this, then I am going to make sure that it is the best night of my life. And no Lich can take this happiness away from me.

F POV

We danced like that for the next couple songs. It was perfect. The mood, the setting, everything. Marceline has even stopped floating and was dancing for real with me. If I could freeze this moment in time, I would do it in a heartbeat. It's hard telling what was going through our minds at that moment. I've always thought of Marceline as a close friend, but now, I think it's turning into something deeper than friendship that I feel for her. I haven't felt this way towards anyone else but Bubblegum, so maybe, yes! It must mean that I, Finn the Human, like Marceline, The Vampire Queen. But…how could a vampire like a simple human? She's wonderful and powerful, what could I possibly offer her? Maybe my liking her is pointless, I don't mind. She's here with me now and I am going to make the best of it! Slammacow, that's right! She's _dancing_ with _me_, she _came_ to _me_, and she had kept my hat (That now smells like her)! Maybe Jake's right, maybe Marceline does have feelings for me. I mean she is laying her head on my shoulder, maybe it's not as hopeless as I thought…

"Finn…" Marcie says and clutches me tighter.

"Yes?" I reply, trying to focus on making slow movements, side to side and back and forth, through my racing thoughts.

"I need to talk to you about something very important." She pulls slightly away until we are facing each other.

"About what?" I ask. Her face is filled with regret and sorrow. It worries me a bit. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, atleast I think I am," She says and I twirl her. We are then back to facing each other. "I just need to say that…well…" She looks like she is on the verge of tears. My heart drops.

"Marceline, what's wrong?" I say sympathetically. She shakes her head and hugs me hard.

"Just, don't let go…at least for tonight," She says through tears. What's wrong with her? Is she worried about something? I hug her back and hold her head into my shoulder.

"I've already told you that I'm never letting you go," I say and lean my head on hers. Then, it hits me. She must be worried about the upcoming fight with the Lich.

"Thank you, Finn," She says and clutched her hands on my shirt.

"It's going to be ok, Marcie. Jake and I are going to go defeat the Lich tomorrow and everything will be fine," I say and she quickly pulls away, staring me in the face.

"No, you can't!" She screams in terror. "You'll…you'll…" I can feel her body giving away as I eased us to the ground. "I couldn't handle it if something were to happen to you."

"And I feel the same way about you. That's why I must do this Marcie. Everything will be fine. I promise," I say. She grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

M POV

I can't handle it any longer. I have to convince him not to go tomorrow. Even if that requires me to break down and show him my soft side. If I can do that then I can go and do what has to be done. The thought of losing Finn is just too much, I won't let it happen. I can't let that nightmare I had come true. I stand up.

"Listen, promise me that you will wait a little longer before you go to fight the Lich," I say and he stands up as well, not letting go of my hands.

"I…promise…" He says hesitantly. I give him a small smile.

"Thank you," I say and try to wipe my face clean of my tears. Then, Finn kisses my cheek. I look at him, shocked by his actions.

"And it's even sealed with a kiss," He says and smiles. I give him a quick smile and pull away.

"We'd better get to the party," I say and start to leave our little seclusion. But he keeps hold of my arm.

"What's this?" He says as he examines the light scar on my left arm.

"It's nothing," I lie.

"It's my fault," He says in defeat. I grab his face with my free hand, forcing him to look me in the eye.

"It was not your fault! Don't ever blame yourself for what happens to me. I'm the one who made the mistakes, not you. And besides," I say and his face contorts in my hand. "If it wasn't for you, I probably would have died. You're a true hero, Finn." I let go of his face. He smiles slightly.

"Marceline, I want you to know that I meant every word I said before. I will protect you now and always," he says and I look back at him. "I won't let anything like that happen to you again. I really care about you." I smile the widest smile I have in _years_. Even though I know he won't be able to keep that promise, it fills my heart with joy.

"I really care about you too," I say and he let's go of my hand and instead, intertwines his arm with mine and we leave the canopy of trees.

F POV

Once we were out from the privacy of the trees, Marceline pulls away from me.

"Hey, I have to go talk to someone," She says seriously. "I'll be right back." and is gone before I can protest. I am left to wander the party in a daze. So Marceline likes me. I think. I _hope_. But that's not good. I sigh and walk over to the punch bowl. If she does like me then it will just make things more difficult. I mean, I like her too and all but…if something were to happen in the fight. I just don't want to hurt Marcie. I reminisce about what happened just moments ago. I guess I didn't really help matters.

"Finn?" A slightly husky woman yells from beside me. "What the stuff are you doing?" I look over to see me pouring punch all over a purple hand. LSP's hand. Uh-oh.

"Oh my glob! I'm so sorry LSP!" I exclaim, quickly grabbing a napkin to dry her hand.

"It's ok Finn, I just came over here to talk to you and junk. But it seems that you are too busy," She huffs.

"Nah, I'm really sorry LSP, what is it that you needed?" I ask politely, not wanting the purple creature to flip out.

"I wanted to see if you would dance the last dance with me so Brad will be lumpin jealous!" She says like she is all annoyed.

"Sure…" I say hesitantly. I like LSP and all, but she is the last person I want to dance with here. Especially if she is just using me.

We walk onto the loud dance floor and I look around. Something's off.

"Um, LSP? Where is Brad?" I shout as she viciously grabs my hands and starts to dance.

"Who?" She screams over the music. Dang it! She tricked me!

M POV

I floated over to the castle. I needed to talk to the last person I wanted to on this planet. Princess Bubblegum. Ugh.

"Marceline?" I turn around to see her coming from the direction of the party.

"Oh, Bonnibel. What are you still doing out here?" I ask. I thought that she would be inside by now.

"Well, this is Finn's B-day party so I stayed out for a bit longer. _They would be so good together_.

"Well," I can feel myself grow furious with my mind. "Um, I need to talk to you."

"Sure!" She says and then we are walking into the castle and up to her room. I float over to her bed and take a seat.

"Pink enough for ya?" I snicker. She frowns.

"Did you need something? Or are you just here to make fun of me?" She complains.

"I'm sorry," I mutter. "I really do have to talk to you." I take a breath. "Do you know of any way to defeat the Lich? Because I do know of one, but I would like to save it as a last resort."

"Hmm…" She ponders. "I have actually been researching this and I have come up with one conclusion." _Don't say Eternal Void_, I think.

"Yes?"

"Well, as long as we keep trying to kill the Lich his ashes and soul will just keep floating along and possessing beings until he grows strong enough to form a body of some type." _Here it comes_. I shut my eyes tightly. _She's gonna say it_. "There is only one way to assure that the Lich cannot come back. And that way is through the Eternal Void." I knew it.

"Yeah, I was hoping that you would have come to a different conclusion," I say, slightly annoyed.

"However, I have no idea on how to open the void. I have only learned stories of the void from books. It's never been perfectly clear on what the void is or how to open it."

"And as long as we don't send the Lich into the void he will just keep coming back," I say. She nods grimly.

"I'm afraid so."

"Well," I say and float over to the window and turn toward her. "I'm going to go. Thanks for the talk, Bubblegum."

"Marceline!" She suddenly shouts and I quickly turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Just, don't go and doing anything rash," She says.

"Since when do you care?" I mock. She frowns. "Listen, Bubblegum, I…I want to apologize. I mean, we used to be best friends."

"Well, so do I.I don't know what came between us," She says genuinely.

"And Bonnie," She looks up. "If anything were to happen, I need you to promise me that you will watch over Finn,"

"Marceline, don't talk like that!" She exclaims.

"Bubblegum, you know what might happen! Just promise me!" I shout and I can see the shock on her face. I immediately back off.

"I will," She promises. "Bye Marcie." I smile and I hurry on out the window.

So, it's confirmed now. I know what I must do. I am possibly the only creature in Ooo who knows how to open the void, and I know what else that means. I float down to the party to find that Finn is dancing with a purple, lumpy monstrosity.

"Um, Lumpy Space Princess?" I interrupt. Finn's eyes light up gratefully as I pull her away. "I need the human for a bit." And I grab his hand and float us away from the party.

"Oh, no Lumping way! Bring him back now!" LSP shouts as we leave the scene. I fly us back to the canopy of trees.

"Thanks Marceline," He says. "We danced for like five songs, she wouldn't let me go!" He complains. I smirk.

"Well if you were having such a good time then I should have left you," I joke. He doesn't laugh. "Aww, I'm just kidding."

"Well still, thanks. I'm pooped."

"Well, it is getting to be your beddy bye time." He gives me a look.

"Wow. Tuff crowd," I say and lean against a tree.

"So, where did you go?" He eventually asked.

"Nowhere," I say back.

"Tell me!" He complains.

"I don't have to, for you see I am the superior being!" I say and show my fangs.

"I already told you that you don't scare me," He says and leans forward and hugs me close and spins me as if we were dancing again.

"Finn, no," I try to push away. I have to push this feeling away. "Stop."

"Marcie?" He sounds concerned and pulls away. I hate this. This deep feeling of regret and longing.

"I have to go," I say and start to float off. However, a hand grabs my ankle.

"No, don't go. Not yet," Finn pleads. "Stay a little longer."

"I can't," I barely get out the words.

"Well then, will you be back tomorrow?" He asks. _Lie. _My mind is all scrambled.

"I don't know," I say. "I'm sorry," and pull my leg away furiously.

I fly away at a break neck speed. Then, everything hit at once. I had to get out of there. I can feel hot tears spilling from my eyes, blurring my vision. Not good. What was I thinking? I know what has to be down and yet here I am fawning over a human! I'm so stupid! I have to break this attachment now. I can't see him again. If I did then it would run the risk of me falling apart at the seams. I can't do that, not now. I have made up my mind. I am going to rid the world of the Lich, for a pricey cost. But as long as Finn is safe, then it will be worth it tenfold.

F POV

Marceline leaves my grip all disheveled. I feel like I'm the reason she left. What did I do this time to mess everything up? I thought everything was going so rhombus too.

"Finn?" I heard a soft voice say from behind me. I turn to see Princess Bubblegum standing in the clearing.

"Peebles?" I exclaim. How long has she been there? Just how much did she see? I mean, it's not like I like-like her anymore, so why do I feel this weird feeling in my gut?

"Don't worry. I came to find you because I have something to discuss with you, but honestly I don't remember what it was now," She says. I can tell that she is lying.

"You saw what happened with Marceline?" I retort.

"Huh? Oh., no I…." She sighs. "Yes, I saw what happened. But now it makes things much clearer."

"Huh?" I say. "What are you talking about?" She's got me all confused now.

"Nothing Finn," She says and shakes her head. "I have to get back to the kingdom, but I just wanted to say Happy Birthday and Goodnight." She turns to leave. I dunno if it was just my mind leaving me or for old time's sake but I call out for her.

"PB!"

"Yeah?" She slowly turns around.

"Do you wanna dance?" I ask politely. She shakes her head gracefully.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think you know who would appreciate it much," She winks and leaves the clearing. So, she thinks Marceline likes me too.

Aiight, that's all for this chapter! This one took forever to write. But, I hope you all enjoyed it none the less. This will probably be updated in a week and a half. Depends on school. Blarg. And thank you all for the comments and stuff, you're all awesome! But yeah, comment!

Preview Time!

M POV

Ashes fell like rain all around us. It is one of the worst sights I've seen since the Great Mushroom War. All of Ooo is ablaze. The Lich is so close, and this simple human boy beside me is determined to defeat him.

"Finn, this will be the most intense battle of our lives, so I don't want…" I stop as his hand folds into mind. I can feel a shiver run through my spine. That's when it really hits: This could be the very last time that we ever see eachother. I grip his hand back tightly.

"I want you to stay here, Marcie," Finn says, and turns to look me directly in the eyes. "I'll go fight the Lich." I shake my head.

"Not this time. I'm immortal, I will come back. You…" I stop my words before they tumble out of my mouth.

"I'll be fine Marceline! Trust me. I don't know what I would do if…" He looks behind us at the fallen Candy Kingdom. "I've already lost my home, I don't want to lose you too."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ring, Ring!" It's me again! Oh my glob, y'all! This is it! For part one ;] bam! Yes, there will be a part two! And you may be wondering, "Why is this a two parter if it's only four chappies long?" Well, my dear little readers, it is because I need to study for school and I just got a new tablet! Whoop whoop! So I'm going to take a breakie-poo for two or three weeks. Or make another fanfic, whatever. Or maybe I'll update sooner if I get all of my work done, who knows. But yes, this is the end to part one and this chapter is LONGG. Glob. So I hope that long chapters make up for that. Also, I attempt song lyrics for Marcie, so no makin fun of em! lol Well I'm exhausted and I'm gonna take a nap. Enjoy the end to part one and don't you fret, I won't let this end tragically (Part 2 peeps!) lol So hold on to your lumps, cause _it's about to go down!_

_Also, thank you to everyone who reviews and stuff, you're all awesome! =D_

_AT owned by PW_

"And then we both go down together, we may stay there forever, I'll just try to get up. And I'm sorry but this wasn't easy, but I asked you, believe me. You never let go…but I let go." _I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About_- Mayday Parade.

Ch. 4: I Don't Know How to Say Goodbye

I leave the clearing to look for Jake. It's time to head home. I'm completely pooped and emotionally exhausted. I need some Z's.

"Jake!" I shout over the music. He doesn't even look my way. So, I try my best to get to him and avoid LSP at the same time. I can see her floating nearby, shouting my name. I duck behind Cinnamon bun. Skills!

"Jake!" I grab his arm.

"Huh? Oh, hey Finn!" He says and continues dancing. "What are you doin?"

"I'm ready to go home. I'm exhausted and I don't really want to be caught by LSP to dance more," I say and he laughs.

"You had to dance with LSP? Sorry man. Did Marceline ever show up?"

"Yeah, we danced some and stuff…" I say, feeling my cheeks grow warm. "But she left in a hurry. I just wonder if she's ok."

"Well, do you want to go over to her place tomorrow?" Jake asks. "We can say that we came over to jam or something, to make up for the last time that we ditched."

"Yeah, sounds righteous."

"Awesome, now let's go home!" Jake says and he goes to tell Lady Rainicorn that we are leaving. My mind keeps flashing back to when Marceline left. She seemed so upset. I can't think of anything I did that would upset her like that…

"Hop on my back bro, let's go!" Jake says a little too cheery for this late at night. It's like three in the morning and in fact, there are still way too many people up partying. Maybe I'm the only one exhausted.

"Yeah, let's move on out!" I say back and we head towards home.

Once we reached home, I went upstairs and fell onto my bed. I took a deep breath in and I could still smell Marceline. I wonder if she's ok. I decide that I will go and check on her tomorrow like Jake said. Yeah, for sure!

"Hey," Jake says as he makes himself comfy in his drawer. "Did you enjoy your party?"

"Totes man. It was awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better party!" I exclaim back.

"Yeah, it was pretty awesome," Jake agreed. "So…what all did you and Marceline do?" I gulp.

"Well, we talk and danced and stuff," I reply.

"You two danced? But I thought you had two left feet when it came to dancing!" Jake says.

"Well, I may have practiced a bit…" I admit shyly. "And besides, I can dance! Remember when we had the Jiggler? I danced like a pro!" I exclaim.

"Ha! The tooth brush dance does not count as a real dance!" Jake accused.

"It so does!" I retort and roll over.

"Fine, so you two danced. Did you guys kiss?"

"What?" I could feel my face grow hot and the room temperature rise. "No! We just danced and talked and stuff…"

"What about?" Jake asks.

"Well, about nothing and everything. About each other and about the Lich and stuff…"

"Why do you keep saying, "And stuff"?" Jake points out.

"I dunno man, I'm exhausted." I could tell that he wasn't going to give this up. I will have a list of questions waiting for me in the AM. "Let's just get some sleep."

"Ok, but I want answers tomorrow!" Jake says. And silence fell over the room for about two minutes before he asked, "Are we still going to fight the Lich tomorrow?"

"Nah man. After partying it up all night we need to rest. Otherwise he will just bust our chops." And silence once again fell upon the room. I didn't even change into my pajamas. My clothes held Marceline's lovely scent.

M POV

I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity, my eyes raw from crying. I haven't cried that much in centuries. This is ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. But I eventually pull myself up from my bed until I was barely floating above it. I fix myself up-right and head over to my closet and go inside. I find an unlabeled black box and lift the lid. I pull a black book up from the inside. I had found out about the Eternal Void about three centuries ago, completely by accident. I watched as an entire village was sucked into the deep dark swirling void. And then it was over, just as quickly as it started. It terrified me. That's where I found the book in the village's remains.

"So, what do I need," I say to myself as I open the book.

"_In order to open The Eternal Void, three things must be done. Firstly, the symbol (As pictured below) must be drawn onto the right hand of the summoner. Secondly, the same symbol must be drawn where the void shall appear. And thirdly, the void will only open with a chant (As listed below)."_

"So, it's sort of like how to open the Nightosphere…in a way…" I announce to no one. But, I was hoping that maybe there was a way to open the void and escape before being sucked in. However, the next line in the book crushed that hope.

"_It must be made clearly aware that once the void is opened, only the being with the symbol on their hand can close it by entering the void itself."_ There is no escape. If I am doing this, then that means goodbye. Goodbye to everyone. Goodbye to Finn. I can feel myself growing emotional again as I draw the symbol on a scrap piece of paper. My hand shook, almost completely messing the picture up.

"Get a hold of yourself!" I scream to myself and punch the inside of my closet. Like that helped. Ugh. I turned the piece of paper around and wrote down the chant.

I returned the book to its rightful box and folded the paper neatly into my pocket. I looked over at my recording equipment. We still never had that jam session. I sigh and pick up my Axe Bass and take a seat on my bed. I erase the last song (The one about how I felt about Finn and Jake missing the last Jam sess) and decide to start all over. I poured my heart and soul into my strings and I let myself go. I sang everything that I felt at the moment. Joy, happiness, regret, longing and emptiness. I was empty, hollow as an old rotten log. Joy and happiness from the mere fact that I was able to meet Finn, regret and longing for what I know was going to happen and the emptiness is what I needed. I need to feel empty. I need to dump all of these feelings now, into this song and never feel them again. Chances are that he will never hear this song, and I don't want him to.

"_I wish things didn't have to turn out like this, I wish I could be around for one kiss. I'm leaving you now, but don't you __**dare**__ frown. These words shall never reach your precious ears._

_You will one day wake as if nothing ever happened. It's all memories better left off dead. _

_Behind those innocent eyes of yours, I found a __**love**__ worth __**dying**__ for. A grand master plan formalized, it all ends with my demise. _

_You should know that you're all I had. You should know that you're all I ever had…"_

My voice escapes me as the strums on my Bass grow faint. I press stop on my recording equipment and set my Bass down one last time. I will let myself cry for two minutes. I will lose myself for one. And I do. I sob my freaking eyes out. Almost like the time when I lost my mom. Why did I let myself fall for a human? Why is this the only way to save that human? One minutes up. I slowly start to calm myself down, breathing in and out slowly. Two minutes are up.

Then, from down stairs came a loud knocking.

F POV

Morning came quickly. I yawn and stretch my ever growing limbs out and stand up. Jake's drawer is absent of the sleeping dog. How did he wake up before me? I slowly make my way to the kitchen and pour me a glass of bug milk.

"Morning Beemo," I say to the little robot. "Where's Jake?"

"Good morning, Finn. Jake went out about an hour or so ago," it says.

"Oh, did he say where he was going?" I ask nonchalantly.

"No, just that he will be back soon."

"Thanks Beemo," I say and head towards the living room. I grab my pack and place my golden sword in its holder. Might as well head over to Marcie's, even though I had hoped to defeat the Lich today, but a man never breaks a promise!

M POV

I slowly make my way towards the front door. I wipe my eyes furiously and try to make myself somewhat presentable for whatever creature was on the other side of my door. My hand stops on the handle. What if it's Finn? I don't want to see him. I can't see him.

"Who is it?" I croak. Was my voice really that ragged?

"It's Jake," the voice replies. "I need to talk to you." I hesitate.

"Well, I don't want to talk," I answer back.

"It's serious Marceline. It's about Finn." I swing the door open so fast that I almost knocked the dog over by the shear wind power. Did he break his promise?

"Is he ok?" I say too frantically. I can't help it.

"He's fine!" Jake reassures. "I just need to talk to you about him is all!" I sigh.

"Come in I guess…" I say and shut the door behind him and lock it. I float over to my couch and softly land on it. Glob I'm tired.

"So," Jake starts. "Are you ok? You look a little rough." I shift my focus to him.

"Yeah, never been better!" I obviously lied. He frowned. "What? Was that not proper enough for you?"

"What's going on Marceline?" He demands. "First Finn comes home all sad and now you're acting strange!"

"I am not! And why was Finn upset?"

"You know why! I want you to tell me!" He says and takes a seat on the opposite side of the couch from me. "I just don't like how sad he looked. He is really worried about you."

"He's worried about me?" I can feel my heart drop. That's exactly what I didn't want to happen. I don't want him to be worried about me.

"Jake," I say. "I want you to convince Finn to forget about me. Make him fall for Bubblegum again or whatever you have to do." The words taste like poison on my tongue. I hated this.

"Marceline, what's really going on? What are you hiding?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Cause you will tell him, and it will break him. I don't ever want to see him broken," I say and stare Jake in the eyes. Then, my anger subsided. "Please?" I plead. He sighs.

"I can't make him forget about you, you know that. But," He stops and looks away. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," I say. I think that this is the first time that I have ever really talked to Jake one on one without trying to freak him out. But I think that that might be freaking him out worse than if I had. I return to staring straight ahead.

"Just what are you planning Marceline? If you're going to fight the Lich, let us help you," Jake says. "You don't have to everything on your own."

"I'll be ok. Don't worry. Just don't tell Finn anything," I say and then there is another knock at the door.

"Popular today, aren't ya?" Jake says and heads for the door. I quickly escape into the kitchen and out the back door. I look through the window and watch as Finn walks into my house. Jake turns around and confusion fills his face. I quickly make my way out of the cave, but stop once I reach the mouth. The Suns out. GLOB IT! I tug my hair in frustration and look around.

"Miss?" A tiny voice calls from behind me. I quickly turn to see a tiny goblin creature.

"Who are you?" I say as I glide down behind some rocks.

"I'm from a village not too far from here. I came for your aid! I was here not too long ago, but I had lost the courage to speak to you. But now it seems inevitable," It says and grovels on the ground.

"Shh! Quite down you!" I say in a hushed voice. It shivers. "What do you need?"

"Well, it seems as though the Lich has taken shelter in our village and it is causing death and destruction to all! We need your aid, Miss Vampire Queen! We have heard of how strong you are! Oh please!" It screamed.

"I said SHH!" I order and it shuts up. "The Lich you say? Ok. I will go with you tomorrow," I say and the little goblins face lights up. "I just need to rest before I fight him. Now, I have a task for you."

"ANYTHING!" The little creature said in delight.

"I need you to go into my house and convince the two people inside to leave."

"As you wish!" It says and starts to take off, but I grab its little tunic.

"However, you cannot, and I repeat CANNOT, tell them of our conversation or that you know where the Lich is. Also, don't let them know where I'm at. Got it?" I say and it nods its head furiously. "Good."

F POV

I have to say that I was surprised to see Jake open the door. This is the last place I would expect him to be at.

"What's going on?" I ask. "Where's Marceline?"

"I have no idea bro. She was just here," He says and scurries to the kitchen. Where did she go? Is she avoiding me? Why would she do that?

"She's not here anymore," Jake says and sits on the couch. Then, the back door swung open with such a force that it banged against the wall.

"Oh, it's terrible! Just terrible!" A little goblin creature came rushing into the house and fell to the ground. I hurried over to its side and leaned down, lifting its head up slightly.

"Are you ok, little dude?" I ask. He looked as though he had been through a lot.

"I need the tears of the Cyclops in order to heal my wounds!" It shouted.

"But you don't look severely injured," I inspected.

"Oh, OW! OH IT HURTS!" The goblin says dramatically. I set him down.

"We will help you. What's your name?" I ask.

"Ah, really dude?" Jake complains and I give him a look.

"I am Irvin, the goblin," He says.

"Well I am Finn and this is Jake and we shall escort you to the Cyclops."

"Oh thank you great hero!" Irvin says and I pick him up.

"So we're going? Just like that?" Jake says.

"Yeah, we have to help this little guy. Then, I'll come back," I say and we leave Marcie's house.

"Hey Jake," I say as we leave the mouth of the cave.

"Hm?" He responds.

"Why were you at Marceline's?" I ask.

"Oh, well, no reason really. Just to see what is going on between you two," He says and stares at me.

"What?" I say nervously.

"Well? What is going on? What aren't you telling me, Finn?" He accuses. I can feel my heart rate double its pace and my face burn.

"There's nothing going on. At least, I don't think there is. That's kinda why I came down here too," I admit.

"Well, do yo thang bro." Is all he says. It only leaves me to wonder what those two had talked about only moments before I got there…

M POV

It felt like it took forever for them to exit my cave. But whatever that little goblin said to them worked and now that they are gone I can return to my house and lock both doors. I quickly go inside and up the ladder to my room. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I need to get some sleep before this, because last time things didn't go so well. However, I could still feel those stupid butterflies in my stomach. Finn was here. To check up on_ me_. I sigh and roll to my side. I've fallen, and I have fallen hard.

F POV

The day passed by quickly. We finally reached the Cyclops's hill when Irvin suddenly jumped from my grip and started to run away.

"What the?" I yell as he turns around and sticks his tongue out at us. "You tricked us!"

"Yeah, poo-brain! And now, I take my leave!" Irvin shouts back and disappears into the forest.

"I can't believe we tried to help that little faker!" Jake complained. "We wasted the entire day trying to get here! It's almost dark now!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't not try to help him. Hero's code. But I still can't believe he tricked us," I say back. If he wasn't really injured, then why was he at Marcie's?

"Well, let's go on home. I'm hungry," Jake says as his stomach makes some strange gurgling noises.

"You can go on ahead. I'm gonna go and chase after Irvin and find out why he tricked us!" I say and start to run after Irvin.

"Ooohh..Wait up!" Jake complains and follows after me.

M POV

I dreamt of nothing. It was a nice change considering the nightmares I've been having recently. I yawn as I stretch my limbs. I must have gotten at least five or six good hours of sleep in, enough to keep me stable. But, not stable enough for what I find lying on the floor next to my bed.

"FINN?" I scream loud enough to startle him awake.

"Yesh? Whatss goinn on?" He says in a concerned and yet groggy voice. Even through my initial shock, I can't help but chuckle. I bite my tongue.

"What are you doing in my lair?" I question. He rubs his tired eyes and looks around.

"There was a goblin, Irvin, and he supposedly needed to go to the Cyclops for help, magical tears and what not, and Jake followed and Irvin tricked us and…" He stared into space for a second. "How did I get here?" Finn says and looks around my room as if it would give him the answer he desired.

"You're not making any sense," I say and cross my arms.

"Are you two awake yet?" I see Jake climb up my ladder and take a seat on my sofa in my room.

"What are you both doing here?" I ask him, hoping for at least a better answer than Finn's jumbled story. "And how did you get into my house? The doors are locked."

"Were," Jake corrected. "Were locked. We, and by we I mean Finn, may have broken your back door. _Accidently_. See, there was a goblin named Irvin and he tricked us and came running back here. Well he came in through the doggie door and Finn was going full speed and may have broken down the door. Kid doesn't know his own strength. But, he knocked himself out with that one and so I just put him up here," Jake finishes. That stupid little goblin!

"Why did you put him over here?" I said, trying to calm my fury that they practically broke into and crashed at my house.

"I didn't. I had him on the couch. Must have sleep walked or something," Jake says.

"IRVIN!" Finn suddenly screams and I nearly jump out of my skin. "Where is he?"

"I have no idea, but don't scream like that!" I scold and take off his hat and felt the top of his head. "You must have hit the door pretty hard. You have a slight egg on your head." I replace the hat and start to go down stairs.

"Where are you going?" He says and starts to follow.

"I'm going to go and get something frozen to put on that lump," I say and continue on my way. I open the freezer part of my fridge and pull out a baggie of frozen raspberries. I can see from my periphery that Jake has followed me down, but Finn did not. I hurry back upstairs and place the bag on his head.

"Keep that there for awhile," I order. He slowly nods. I'm going to destroy that little goblin. I didn't want to see Finn. I was starting to get over it. And now here he is. Injured and only two feet away. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah," He says and looks up at me. "It feels much better now." He smiles. I can feel myself blush.

"Whatever," I say and he suddenly grabs my hand.

"Marcie, the other day when you took off, were you mad at me?" He asks.

"What? No! It's…nothing really," I reply. _It's something much worse than that._

"Well then, why did you leave?" He says as he gingerly intertwines his fingers with mine. I pull my hand quickly away.

"I can't tell you! Just…trust me. I promise that I'm not mad at you or anything…" I say and he pulls me into a deep hug.

"Finn?" I say in a mixture of shock and surprise.

"Marceline, I have something that I need to tell you…" He says softly. I can feel myself growing anxious.

"Finn…" I say and then that annoying little goblin cam shouting into my room. I swear I'm gonna kill it!

"The Lich is gone!" Irvin shouts.

"Say what now?" My mind starts to register the words. I quickly pull away from Finn and stand up, facing the vermin. "What do you mean gone?" I say in rage.

"He is not in my village anymore!" He says with joy.

"You knew where the Lich was?" Finn looks up at me, his face said that I had betrayed him. But I had to, I really did…

"Finn," I say his name for the gazillionth time tonight when out of nowhere there is a loud _BOOM_ that shakes the entire house. "Oh, no!" I scream and rush downstairs.

"What was that?" Jake panics. I rip my front door open and go to the mouth of my cave. The sky had a deep amber glow. It's not anywhere near morning yet.

"Oh, no…" I whisper to myself.

"Marceline?" A very disoriented Finn says as he meets me at the mouth of the cave. "What was that?" I give him a regretful look as his eyes shift from mine and onto the scene laid before us. His eyes widen in horror as he realizes what it is that we are witnessing. "Oh, my glob…"

It wasn't near daybreak and there where streaks of reds and oranges glowing from the distance. Flames. I can't help but feel like a complete idiot. I should have realized that the Lich would not wait until I was ready. Of course not.

"It's too soon…"

F POV

I couldn't help but to stare in awe of what was happening. The Candy Kingdom, and most of Ooo, is on fire. Black smoke filled the air and found its way into my nostrils, choking me. I gag a little. This is not helping my concussion.

"We have to go!" I shout. "The candy people and all of Ooo need our help!"

"And Bubblegum…" I could hear Marceline say with disdain. A cold chill runs down my spine. I forgot about the Princess.

"Come on, kid." She says and I grab her by the waist and we start to fly off.

"Don't leave me!" Jake complains as he grabs my leg and we make our way to the Candy Kingdom.

I relinquish my grip on Marceline unwillingly as we reach the Kingdom.

"Bro, go see if PB's in danger!" Jake shouts as he finds Lady Rainicorn and starts to help her put out flames. Candy people are running around, some injured, some exploding and some not moving at all. It was horrible.

"Finn, go check on Bonnibel!" Marceline yells as she fights off some shadow beast. Monsters, demons came from the shadows. They were everywhere. All products of the Lich's power.

"I'm not leaving you!" I say as I pull out my sword and slash at the beast. It dissipates into nothing.

"Will you just go! I've got this!" Marceline says and turns into her giant bat form and crushing the shadow beasts left and right.

I reluctantly withdraw and run in the direction of the castle. I rush up the stairs and slam the Princess's door open.

"Finn!" I hear a high pitched voice gasp. I am immediately glomped by the owner of said voice, Princess Bubblegum.

"Are you ok, PB?" I ask. She nods her head vigorously as she cried onto my shirt.

"It's terrible Finn, there's nothing I can do! The monsters just keep coming from the shadows. I don't understand! I feel completely helpless…" I place my hand on her back and pat my hand gently on it.

"It's going to be ok, Peebles," I say and she looks up. "I'm going to go and kill the Lich now. Just tend to the citizens and stay safe." I give her a small smile. She nods and I leave the room. I run back outside and find Jake.

"You and Lady keep an eye on the Princess," I order. "I'm going to fight the Lich!"

"Bro, wait!" Jake shouts, but I'm already out the castle gates when I see a figure in the distance that stops me in my tracks. Marceline is standing just a little ways beyond the castle, staring into the distance, staring at the Lich. I slowly make my way towards her and stand by her side.

"Finn…" She says solemnly.

"I'm here, Marcie."

M POV

Ashes fell like rain all around us. It was one of the worst sights I've seen since the Great Mushroom War: All of Ooo is ablaze. The Lich is so close, and this boy beside me is determined to defeat him. However, I'm not going to let him.

"Finn, this will be the most intense battle of our lives, fate of the world stuff here, so I don't want…" I stop dead in my tracks as he takes my hand. A shiver runs up my spine. That's when it really hits. This is the very last time that we will ever get to see each other. I grip back tightly.

"I want you to stay here Marcie, I'll go fight the Lich," He says, looking me in the eyes. I shake my head.

"Not this time, hero. I'm immortal, I will come back," I lied. "You…"

"I will be fine Marceline! Trust me! I don't know what I would do if…" He looks back at the fallen Candy Kingdom. "I've already lost my home, I don't want to lose you too." His words slice though me, straight to the core of my very being. I've never had someone care so much for me that my dying would affect the rest of their life.

"H..how about we go together?" The words barely escape my mouth and I give him a sad smile. I was just going to leave him behind once were we're close anyways, might as well spend a few more minutes with him.

"Ok."

F POV

My guts are completely destroyed. Jake is still at the Candy Kingdom with Lady and PB. Good. I'm the one that the Lich wants to fight. I have to end this now. I just don't like how Marceline is going in with me. I can see despair in her eyes. This is her home that he destroyed too. I had held her hand for many reasons. To comfort her? Me? To show that I cared about her? All of these combined.

She flew us towards the Lich in complete silence. I held onto her tightly, and she held back just as tight. Almost as if our bodies could merge into one.

"We're here," Her voice breaks the silence. I look before me. It's unbelievable, the level of death and destruction.

"Finn?" Marceline says worriedly. I try and look brave.

"We can do this!" I say to her. She smiles lightly and I burn this smile into my mind. If it's the last one I ever see, then I'm glad it was hers.

We start walking side by side in the direction of the Lich. Then, I feel something odd.

"I think he has some sort of shield up," Marceline says and looks at me. Shadows and smoke swirled all around us and loud booms came from the distance. She grabs my hand once more and we continue on our way.

We almost reach the Lich when Marceline turns and stops me.

"Finn, I am going to end this. I want you to stay here and only come if needed."

"No, Marceline. I'm coming too!" then she grabs my shoulders and slams her face into mine, kissing me hard. She slowly pulls away, leaving me in a daze.

"I have to go…" She says and turns to leave. I grab her hand quickly.

"No!" I shout and pull her back, but she pulls away and I can see tears in her eyes.

"Finn, I'm immortal! I will be back. Please…!" She says when suddenly I am forced back. I stumble and fall to the ground as Marceline is sucked into the shield. "Ah!"

"Marceline!" I shout and pound on the invisible wall, making ripples go throughout. She turns from me to look at the swirling darkness and fire that lay before her. Terror filled my body.

"I have to tell you something…" She says. I listen.

"Bubblegum found a way for me to defeat the Lich. I, however, already knew and wanted to keep it as a last resort and well…I guess this is it." I can feel myself giving out. This isn't happening.

"I'm going to open a portal to the Eternal Void and I will send the Lich there and…" My heart sinks as I realize what this means.

"Marceline, NO!" I shout and she smiles.

"Why do you always get to be the hero?" She asks playfully. "Goodbye, Finn." And she's gone. Leaving me with nothing but a kiss and a smile.

M POV

Tears stung at my eyes. Sacrifice is never an easy thing, but when it's for someone you love, it seems natural. I can feel something inside me melt. I love Finn. I honestly do. It explains everything. The gut wrenching pains I had awhile back, they were because of Finn. I can hear him screaming my name. Growing fainter and fainter. Each scream shaking my soul. I now realize just how much he means to me, only now it's too late. I reach the Lich who has grown enormous in size. I start to draw the symbol on my hand and then look up at him. He looks down and laughs.

"This was much easier than I thought it would be!" He says and grabs a hold of me, squeezing tightly. He lifts me into the air to face him. I act like I am struggling while I am really drawing the symbol on his hand as well.

"I didn't think you would be this easy to capture though." He says. I laugh.

"I know what you're trying to do! You're using me as bait, which you didn't even need to do. Finn would have come anyways! But that doesn't explain the shield."

"Ah, yes. You're completely wrong, foolish vampire! I did not want him to come after you. I just simply want him to have a front row seat as I destroy everything he loves!" Then, it clicks.

"You want to destroy him from the inside out…" I say and fury fills my body. The Lich laughs. "Well, too bad! I have other plans!" I scream and begin the chant as a giant black hole forms behind him and starts to pulls us in. It terrifies me, just like when I had seen it before. I take one last look behind me and I can see a tiny white dot in the distance, and then it's gone.

NB POV

It is one week later. The skies have returned to their normal colors and the Candy Kingdom is in the process of being rebuilt. Today, though, everyone was missing from the kingdom. They are all just outside the castle walls, many little mounds surrounding them.

"Citizen's of Candy Kingdom and all of Ooo," A voice rings across the crowd of wet eyes. Princess Bubblegum is center stage, a black dress adorned her.

"Today we all mourn the loss of many great citizen's to the Lich…" She says and looks into the crowd. She finds a white hat in the front row and the owner's eyes are glued to the ground, almost soullessly. A yellow hand held the boy close.

"It is also a day where we mourn the loss of someone great. Someone who sacrificed themselves for our sake." The white hat trembles. "Marceline the Vampire Queen." The white hat leaves. Bubblegum's heart drops and tears fill her eyes. "She will be forever remembered as the great heroine that saved Ooo from mortal destruction. Now, let us all take a moment of silence."

The boy in the white hat, now sixteen, ran though the forest made of cotton candy trees blindly. Tears flowed feverishly and he was finding it harder and harder to breath. His brother followed, screaming his name, pleading that the boy stop.

"_It's my fault! I wasn't strong enough! I didn't try hard enough! It's all my fault_!" His thoughts scream as twigs and branches snapped on his skin. Fragile. Why is he so fragile? He falls to the ground in defeat.

"Finn?" His brother cautiously approaches the weeping, broken boy.

"It's my fault…" He sobs. "I'm no hero. I couldn't even save…" His brother pats his back gently. "Why did she have to?" Jake then pulls his little brother into a hug.

"Dude, it was her choice. She did it to save you and all of Ooo. It's not your fault…It's going to be ok," Jake says and grows bigger in size in order to carry his bro.

"_It was not your fault! Don't ever blame yourself for what happens to me. I'm the one who made the mistakes, not you. And besides, if it wasn't for you, I probably would have died. You're a true hero, Finn." _Marceline's words echoed in his mind. How could he not blame himself? He should have left her at the Candy Kingdom. He should have left to defeat the Lich before any of this happened. He should have broke his promise to her.

"Jake, I…"

"It's ok, Finn," Jake says and carries the shattered remains of the boy home.

F POV

I don't remember much after Jake carried me home. I feel numb. I have no idea what day it is or why no one would answer the phone. *RINGGG* *RINGGG* Finally Jake makes his way into the living room and answers.

"Hello? Oh, hey P…huh?...Uh-huh….yeah, right….yeah, ok. On our way Peebles," Jake hangs up and looks over at me. I rub my sore and tired eyes.

"What was that?" I croak in someone else's voice.

"We are going somewhere bro," Jake says and tosses my pack at me.

"I don't want to go anywhere…" I say solemnly.

"Dude, just come on! We are going to go see PB, she said that it's urgent!" I slowly make my limbs upright and climb upon Jakes back as we make our way to the Candy Kingdom.

The Kingdom is not fully back to its former glory, but it is well on its way. We reach PB's room in no time and see the pink mass huddled over some books that littered her floor.

"Guys!" She exclaims and rushes over to us.

"Hey PB, how have ya been?" Jake asks.

"I've been better," She says. I can see that she has been crying. I look over at her mirror and see my reflection. It's apparent that I have been too.

"But!" She says cheerfully. "Look at what I have found!" She shoves a book into our faces.

"The Eternal Void?" Jake says, giving PB a look.

"Just read!" She urges, and he does.

"The Eternal Void is a place not completely known to us, but there is some knowledge of the subject which we shall discuss in this chapter. What is in the void itself is unknown. Some say that it's the gateway to oblivion, others say that if two enemies are placed into the void that they will fight for eternity, hence "Eternal Void". Jake stops.

"Princess, I don't think that Finn should be hearing this!" He complains.

"Just keep reading!" She says enthusiastically. So I pick up where Jake left off.

"However, we believe that, based on research, the reason that no one has ever returned from the void is because they get lost in the darkness. If someone of a pure heart were to enter the void, we concluded that they will be able to find their way home." I felt something that I hadn't felt in a long time as I finished the last sentence. Hope.

"Does this mean?" I almost shout, looking PB in the eyes.

"I'm not positive, but that's what I've concluded," She says.

"Now wait a just a second!" Jake shouts. "Finn is not going into the Eternal Void!"

"Yes I am, Jake!" I shout back just as fiercely. "I have to! I…I have to save Marceline." Jake's face fell.

"I don't like this…" He says. "There must be another way!"

"Dude, just let me do this. I can't let Marcie wander the darkness forever, or worse…" I clench my fists tightly. "Fight a never ending battle against the Lich!" I shout and give him a pleading look. Jake frowns and sighs in defeat.

"Fine, but I'm coming with!" He exclaims.

"But Jake, you can't!" Bubblegum states. "You would be more of a liability than an asset to Finn. You're heart is not pure like Finns. Remember all of those misdeeds that you made years ago? You could get lost in the void as well."

"When can I go?" I interrupt.

"We just need the symbol and the chant in order to open the void. However, Marceline was the one who knew them." I start to head towards the exit. "Where are you going?"

"To Marceline's. She may have something about it at her house," I say and start to run.

I'm coming, Marcie. I'm going to use my purity to illuminate your way out of the Eternal Void and back home. With me.

_Part One: End_


End file.
